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The demand for potable water increases with population growth, given its role in sustaining life. As part of a wider approach to ensuring sustainable provision, this has prompted a number of carefully formulated water efficiency improvement plans for buildings, one of the highest water-consuming sectors. This paper presents a detailed analysis of water efficiency potential for a multi-storey commercial complex and an office building in central Malaysia.

In this study, a detailed analysis of the water use and efficiency of the water fittings was carried out. Important data such as historical water use and details of water fittings were acquired during a field survey. A series of water flow rate tests were conducted at the selected buildings and each of the water systems was analysed separately, using the criteria of water efficiency stipulated by a locally applied green building tool. A comparison of water consumption before and after the improvement plan was then made.

Findings from the field surveys indicate that only some of the water fittings were certified with recognised efficiency ratings, which suggests a good opportunity for improvement. The proposed replacement of more-efficient fittings could potentially improve the obtainable green credit points by at least 10 from a maximum of 15. A cost–benefit analysis for a water fitting replacement scheme shows that the estimated payback period is less lengthy for the larger commercial building due to the higher potential savings.

Strategies for improvements in water efficiency for existing non-residential buildings are provided in this paper. The same water consumption analysis procedure can be used by maintenance engineers and other practitioners in building assessments where water efficiency and sustainability in building operation are of concern.

This case study responds to the need for efficient use of freshwater and provides insight into the water efficiency opportunities for commercial buildings. The potential cost savings for replacements of inefficient water fittings have been analysed using a green building tool as a guide. This has not been extensively analysed in previous studies.

The wide range of steel pipe sections with complex geometry, as well as that of their cast iron components (fittings, valves and pumps) poses a real problem to installation designers who must achieve a consistent level of long‐term corrosion resistance. In that case, Rilsan, Polyamide 11 coating gives the opportunity to engineering companies and subcontractors who are concerned both with the corrosion protection of pipes and with the quality of drinking water supplies to solve complex problems, such as the pipes which equip water treatment, purification and pumping stations. The application of specification and standards such as WIS 4‐52‐01(*) and NF A 49713 is the key for a long‐term solution.

The paper aims to present a hands‐on activity for operations management (OM) education that simulates assembly operations common in industrial settings using polyvinyl chloride (PVC) threadable fittings utilised in water pipes as interchangeable parts for easy manual assembly.

The teaching method followed the philosophy of active learning and was applied in an action research approach; the proposed activity was tested and improved during applications in the classroom.

The applicability of the method was proven during in‐class exercises. The results were confirmed with positive feedback from the students involved in the exercises, which was obtained through a survey conducted after a set of applications.

Although the proposed activity may have several possibilities for application, this paper focuses specifically on teaching the topics of work measurement and assembly line balancing, thus limiting the generalisability of these findings to other OM techniques. Therefore, it is important that the activity is further adapted to teach other OM topics.

The activity performed with pipe fittings represents a practical exercise that contributes to reduction of the gap between theory and practice in OM education. Using simple and low cost materials, the students are involved in creating a real process from a fictional product.

This paper presents an experiential learning exercise applied using an innovative approach, using pipe fittings as interchangeable parts assembled in a production line.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the perception of valuers towards the contribution of green features in residential property valuation. The concept of green housing was designed to reduce the negative impacts on the environment and humans. The cost of green housing is higher than the conventional building and is reflected in the selling price, which is further enhanced by the increasing demand for green buildings in the housing market. Such a scenario could be a challenge to the valuers when they carry out a valuation on housing with green features, as there is a lack of information to guide valuers.

This study used a quantitative research method. A comprehensive review of the international green rating tools was carried out to ascertain the relative green features in residential buildings. There are 14 green features identified and grouped into four main categories. A total of 147 valid responses were collected by an online platform and face-to-face distribution among licensed valuers in Malaysia.

The result confirmed that the 14 green features are contributing to the residential property valuation with a reasonable range of adjustment from 2.0% to 6.5%.

The understanding of the range of adjustment for each green feature may provide a guide to the valuer in determining the range of adjustment based on green features associated with residential property in Malaysia. The findings contribute ideas and options to the future development of residential projects by taking into consideration the specific green features that potentially lead to environmental sustainability and building value.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the criteria weights of outsourcing and their key role in ranking outsourcing suppliers.

A new hybrid multi-criteria decision-making approach merges three tools, namely, decision making trial and evaluation (DEMATLE), fuzzy analytic network process (FANP) and ordinal/cardinal data envelopment analysis (DEA) model. Afterwards, experts’ opinions were gathered from a Pipe and Fittings company. Finally, their opinions were incorporated in three-stage approach for outsourcing suppliers’ selection.

The findings of this study show that among the selective criteria for outsourcing, business development, focus on basic activities and order delays are the three most important criteria. Also, the proposed approach ranks suppliers to facilitate decision making for selection.

The number of suppliers, selection criteria and the number of members of the respondents’ team have been identified as some of the limitations of the present study.

The study has significant and practical implications for the managers and for the organizations which have to choose top suppliers, particularly in the case of dealing with numerous and qualitative/quantitative criteria.

This paper proposed a new three-stage approach that incorporates outputs of previous as inputs of next stage to increasing results accuracy. Also, it showed that by incorporating results of FANP method into DEA model, key role of experts’ opinions as a qualitative and quantitative criteria can be caused by increasing flexibility of decision process.

Green building is a relatively new concept with limited applications in property development in South Africa. The objectives of this study are therefore threefold: identify key green building principles considered by property developers, establish the benefits of implementing the principles and determine the barriers to its applications.

The study adopted a case study of two Green Star South Africa (SA)-certified buildings in Sandton, Johannesburg. These are Alexander Forbes building, and Ernst & Young Eris Towers. The two certified buildings were purposefully selected because of the insightful information they provide regarding application of green building principles. The main themes investigated in the cases are environmental awareness, green building principles applications, as well as benefits and barriers of green building. A total of six interviewees from the contractors', property developers', environmental/green building consultants' and sustainability consultants' organizations who were involved in the implementation of green building principles in the two cases provided the qualitative data for the study. The qualitative data were supplemented with data relating to the two case studies obtained from the ‘Earth Works for a Sustainable Built Environment’. The interviews were arranged over a period of two months, and each interview took between 20 and 30 minutes. Analysis of the data was done through a phenomenological interpretation of the qualitative opinions expressed by the interviewees.

Key green building principles comprising energy efficiency, water efficiency, resource efficiency, occupants' health and well-being and sustainable site development were implemented in the two cases. The fact that the buildings were rated 4-star enabled inference to be drawn that the implementation of the principles was less than 60 per cent. Energy efficiency of 35 per cent indicated in Case I suggests that the level is consistent with the South African green building standard of 25 per cent to 50 per cent. However, the energy and water efficiency assessment of the building were based on projections rather than on ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the buildings' performance. Moreover, perceived saving in operational cost was identified as dominant driver to green building principles implementation. Conversely, lack of government incentives and absence of reliable benchmarking data regarding performance of green buildings were major barriers to its full implementation.

The findings of this study provide important implications to the developers and government on the application of green building principles. In the first place, the evidence that initial high cost premium could be off settled by long- term saving on operational costs as a result of use of local materials, energy and water savings as well as use of recycled material, as implemented in the two case projects, would improve investment decision in green building by developers. The understanding of the drivers and barriers to implementation of green building principles also has implications for guiding government policies and programmes towards green building.

The significance of this study stems from the fact that limited studies, especially in the South African context, have indicated the drivers and barriers to the implementation of green building principles. The case study approach adopted gave a novelty to the study by providing hands-on information from the stakeholders who were known to have played specific roles in the application of green building. The findings indicated that initial high cost premium was not a consideration in developers' choice of green building which justifies the possibility of a costlier product when factors such as environmental sustainability benefit is considered to be ultimate. The study thus suggests further research involving larger cases on energy efficiency, water efficiency and costs of green buildings compared to the conventional type to bring the findings to a broader perspective and assist to benchmark data for green building assessment.

In Malaysia, there are a few numbers of frameworks and checklists in order to evaluate the sustainable performance of buildings. In addition, most of these assessment frameworks or checklists focus on environmental sustainability disregarding social and economic pillars. The research in social and economic sustainability in the construction industry is pushing forward, albeit at a slow pace. In addition, the growing number of sustainable criteria in the literature highlights the importance of a systematic framework for construction initiatives. This research aims to propose a comprehensive framework based on three pillars of sustainability, and, additionally, to categorize them in a manner that is applicable for all relevant stakeholders based on their level of involvement and needs. Finally, it identifies the relation between each criterion and stage of the construction lifecycle with the assistance of an expert panel. This research produces a framework that is useful for Malaysian construction stakeholders to reinforce their approach towards sustainability through social and economic aspects that are currently underestimated in the construction industry.

The purpose of this study is to present the importance of integrating common features between the Green Mark Scheme (GMS) and the Buildable Design Appraisal System (BDAS) requirements in building envelopes.

The study presents the common features that influence both the GM score of the building envelope and the buildability score of the wall system. A case study is developed to show the effects of varying the value of a representative common feature in the GM score and the buildability score.

The study finds that lengths of window and wall, and wall materials are the common features that can influence the GM score of the building envelope and the buildability score of the wall system. The case study suggested that the window‐to‐wall ratio (WWR), which is the representative common feature, shows negative relationship with the GM score of the building envelope and positive relationship with the buildability score of the wall system.

The results show that varying the WWR influences the GM score of the building envelope more strongly than the buildability score of the wall system. This seems to imply that building professionals when determining the WWR may have to concern themselves with the GM score of the building envelope more as compared to the buildability score of the wall system.

The study suggests that integrating the common features between GMS and BDAS requirements with other relevant factors such as cost, social and environmental impacts of design can help to save workload, time and budget, as well as facilitate the delivery of more reliable design, planning and management from a practical viewpoint.

Outlines the history and uses of copper tubing and its position in the modern building industry. Discusses its various designations and tempers, its strength and ductility, corrosion resistance, compatibility with other plumbing materials, suitability for use with potable water, its potential as a bacteriostat, its biofouling resistance and its availability in a range of sizes. Notes its position as a guaranteed British Standard quality product, and assesses the impact of Water Bylaws, Building Regulations and the British Standard Code of Practice on Water Supply on its use in building today. Explores other current and future applications of copper tube and extols its properties for health.

This paper discusses some important findings from a research project on the maintainability of wet areas of high‐rise non‐residential, buildings. The implications of six key factors of maintainability namely water‐tightness, spatial, integrity, ventilation, material and plumbing on the occurrence of 14 most common defects found in wet areas were evaluated. Problem areas evaluated include water leakage from ceiling, staining/discolouration, paint defects, cracking/spalling of concrete, cracking/debonding of tiles, fungi/algae growth, pipe leakage and corrosion. An industry wide survey was conducted and the factors including workmanship, design detailing, maintenance and material incompatibility under tropical conditions are identified and discussed.